Reverse circulation rotary packer



Feb., 27, l951 B, R, SCHABARUM 2,543,382

REVERSE CIRCULATION ROTARY PACKER Filed Sept. 19, 1947 l 'I 24 l Irl 7"aolMaL-J "lo :,E( L

ATTORNEY omino STATES ATENT ori-ICE REVERSE CIRCULATION ROTARY PACKERBruno R. Schabarum, Midland, Tex., assignor to Carl l5. King DrillingCompany, Midland, Tex., a corporation of Delaware Application September19, 1947, Serial No. 774,910

(Cl. Z55- 24) Claims.

This invention relates to a circulation reversing tool for use in rotarydrilling and particularly to a reverse circulation rotary packer wherebycirculation of drilling iluicl through a well may be transferred fromthe interior of the 5 Other and more specific objects and advandrillpipe to the exterior thereof at spaced points tages of this inventionwill be apparent from the along its length above the lower end thereoffollowing detailed description when read in conwithout altering theconventional circulation junction with the accompanying drawings whichconnections at the surface, illustrate useful embodiments in accordancewith In conventional rotary drilling the drilling this invention. fluidis normally circulated i'n the well by pump- In the drawings: ing itthrough the interior of the hollow drill Fig. l is a longitudinalsectional View through pipe from which it discharges through suitablethe tool in accordance with this invention shown openings in the bit andthence flows upwardly disposed inside a well casing; through the annularspace between the well bore Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a wellshowing and casing and the drill pipe, returning to the the toolinserted in a drilling string within the surface through the annularspace inthe surwell; face casing and discharging therefrom for re- Fig.3 is a detail showing another embodiment turn to the interior of thedrill pipe by the pump of the packing element forming a part of thetoolin completing the cycle. in accordance with this invention; and

In many types of drilling operations, it is Fig. 4 is a cross-sectionaldetail taken along found desirable to reverse the ordinary directionline 4 4 0f Fig. 3. of flow of the drilling iiuid and cause the fluidReferring to the drawings, and to Fig. 1 parto iiow down the annularspace and back through ticularly, the tool comprises a cylindrical bodythe interior Yof the drill pipe to the surface. is having a hollowinternally threaded box Il Heretofore this reversal of flow has beenaccomat one end, which is of conventional form for plished by providingspecial cross-over or rethe reception of the usual tool joint pin, and aVersing connections atthe top of the well. Such hollow externallythreaded pin I3 at the oppocross-over or reversing connections normallyresite end, also of conventionalform, for insertion quire considerableequipment, as well as addi- 3U in the box of the drilling string intowhich the tional time and elort on the part of the drilling tool isinserted. A passageway I4 communicates crew to accomplish the desiredreversal in cirwith the interior of box I I and extends at an culation.angle through the major portion of the length The principal object ofthe device, in accordof the body, communicating with the exterior ancewith this invention, is to effect the desired thereof through a port I5adjacent pin I3. A reversal in direction of circulation of thedrillsecond passageway I6 communicates at one end ing fluid in arelatively simple manner, which with the interior of pin I3 and extendsin the eliminates use of special reversing connections oppositedirection through the body, generally at the surface and additionallabor or attention parallel to passageway I4, communicating with on thepart of the drilling crew. ,gg the exterior of the body through a portI'I ad- An important object is the provision of a cirjacent box Il.Mounted on the exterior of the culation reversing tool of very simpledesign for body between ports I5 and II is a sleeve packer insertion inthe drilling string at any desired I8 constructed of any suitableflexible or repoint at which the reversal in flow is to be made. silientmaterial, such as natural or synthetic A more specic object is theprovision of a rubber or the like. Packer I8 is tightly mounttool havinga passageway extending from each ed on the exterior of body Il! eitherby vulcanizend of the interior thereof to the exterior of the ingdirectly to the body metal or by any other tool adjacent the oppositeend thereof and a suitable or conventional means. The lower endc'ompressible packing element about the exterior of the packerl may beprovided with a flexible anof the tool between the outlets of thepassage- 5@ nular lip i9 which is adapted to be expanded by ways forpacking oii between the tool and the fluid pressure into compressiverelationship with surrounding casing, whereby the fluid is transthe wallof a surrounding casing 20 in which ferred from the interior of thedrill pipe to the the tool is4 normally run. The thickness of theexterior thereof and after returning throughthe packer is such as tomake a relatively close slidinterior of the drill pipe to the vicinity'ofthe 5s' ing nt within casing 20, or other pipe into which 2 tool isagain transferred to the exterior of the tool at a point above the pointof first transfer for completing its circuit to the exit of the wellthrough the conventional connection.

angle changes in direction of the flow of thel drilling mud. Thesefeatures minimize the likelihood of stoppages. When employing a fl'owsuch as is described herein, one of the advantages of the apparatus isthat larger sizes ofthe rock specimens are brought to the surface thanin the` case of conventional operations or of other systems of reverseflow. If the-holes in the drill bits are not sufficiently large topermit passage of the larger cuttings, these can be enlarged. Inconventional operation in which the drilling mud is returned along thecasing, the conventional drilling collars employed in such operationsgrind the cuttings to rather fine particles. This does not occur whenthe present device is used, because the cuttings are returned throughthe drill pipe until within a few feet of the surface. The larger piecesof cuttings have the advantage of simplifying geological examinationthereof.

The above described tool is employed in the following manner inconnection with rotary drilling operations, reference being had to Fig.2: The tool is preferably inserted in a drilling string 2|, just belowthe conventional Kelly joint 22 so that during operation, irrespectiveof the increasing or decreasing length of the drilling string employed,the tool will always be positioned within the usual surface casing 20.The upper end of Kelly joint 22 is connected in the conventional mannerto the usual swivel 23'. through which drilling mud is introduced by themudpumps (not shown) through a goose neck 24. The Kelly joint extendsthrough the usual rotary table, 25 shown mounted on a derrick floor 26.above the mouth of surface casing 2D, the'latter beingA providedadjacent its upper end` with the usual Outlet pipe 2 from which the mudfluidreturning4 from the well is discharged in the. usual manner to themud ditches (not shown) from which, after the usual screening orsettling operations, the mud is picked up by the mud pumps and returnedto the interior of thedrilling string. With the tool inserted in thedrilling string as above described, the mud entering the interior of'thedrilling string in the usual manner will flow downwardly through theinterior thereof and through passageway I4 emerging therefrom at port I5below packer I8 and will then travel downwardly through the annularspace between the exterior of the drilling string and the casing to thelower end of the drilling string, where it will again enter the interiorof the drill pipe, through the usual bit or other openings in the pipestring, and flow upwardly therein until the fluid reaches the lower endof the tool. There it willV enter passageway divert the. fluid to the.exterior of the. drilLppe through port I'I above the upper end ofpacker; I8. The fluid will then return to the upper endV of the well inthe conventional path, namely, through the annularY spacebetweenthedrilling string and casing 20, from which the uid will be dischargedinthe usual manner through the outlet pipe 21 and into the mudditchescom. pleting the cycle. 'I'he pressure. of` the iluid I6 which`will againV against the ends of packer I8 will compress the latterlongitudinally and expand it radially into sealing engagement with theinner wall of casing 20 with the result that the bodies of iluid aboveand below the packer will be completely segregated and the uid will,therefore, follow the circuit above described. The drilling string may,ofcourse, be rotated inthe usual manner, by means of the usualconnectionof the rotary table to the Kelly joint, and with the arrangementdescribed there will be no interference with the rotation of thedrilling string by the circulation reversing tool. Packer I8 will act asa rotating bushing which is in constant sealing contact with the wall ofcasing 20. With the described arrangement it will be seen that thenecessity for complicated or elaborate cross-over connections'andrequisite valves at the top of the well are completely eliminated anddrilling and handling of drilling uid are conducted in the conventionalmanner.

Although the tool may be inserted in the drilling string at anydesirable point within the casing, it is normally preferable to locateit, as described, immediately below the Kelly joint. This hastheadvantage that since it is always necessary to pull the Kelly joint outof the well when adding or removing sections of the drill pipe, the tooland packer I8 will, in each instance, be brought out of the well underthe view of the drilling crew where any damage due to wear or othercausesv to the tool or packer may immediately become evident to theoperators and necessary repairs or changes made. Also the casing willform a relatively smooth surface for the rotating packer.

It will beunderstood that the form of packer I 8 may be variedconsiderably and may be of any suitable construction which will bereadily apparent to those skilled in this art.

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate details of such another form of. packer whichmay be successfully used with the tool of this invention. In thisembodiment body I8 is undercut successively at 28 and 29, the undercutportions being provided with longitudinal spline grooves 30 and 3 I,respectively. Packer I8 is slidable over the undercut portions of bodyIU from thelower end thereof and has imbedded in the upper and lowerinner ends thereof spaced metal rings 32 and 33 respectively, whichencircle the undercut portions of body I0. Rings 32V and 33 are providedwith tongues 34 and 35, respectively, which project radially therefrominto spline grooves 30 and 3|, respectively, to thereby permit relativelongitudinal movement between packer I8 and body I0 while preventingrelative rotational movement between these members. A section ofundercut portion 29'is externally threaded at 36 to receive a jam nut 3Twhich when screwed on threaded section 36 is adapted to adjustably urgering 33 toward ring 32` and thereby compress packer I8. This adjustmentis provided to permit take-up for wear on the packer. Set screwsr 38extend radially. throughthe body of nut 31 into engagement witlrundercutportion 23 for locking the nut in thedesired adjusted, position. Inailother respectsbody Il! is identical with the embodiment previouslydescribed.

It will be understood that various other changes and alterations may bemade in the detailsof the device in accordance with this inventionwithout departing from the scope of the appendedclaims but within thespirit of Vthis invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A circulation reversing rotary packer for use in rotary drilling,comprising, an elongated body for insertion in a hollow pipe string,means on the opposite ends of said body for connecting it into saidstring, a pair of separate uid passageways extending in oppositedirections through said body, each of said passageways connecting oneend of said body with the side thereof at a point adjacent the oppositeend of said body, said passageways being inclined at an angle to itslongitudinal axis, and a compressible packing element non-rotatablymounted on said body and surrounding said body intermediate the outerends of said passageways adapted to form a fluidtight seal therebetweenand between the exterior of said body and a surrounding casing.

2. A circulation reversing rotary packer for use in rotary drilling,comprising, a cylindrical body having a hollow internally threaded boxportion at one end and a hollow externally threaded pin portion at theopposite end for connecting said body to adjacent sections of a hollowpipe string, a passageway communicating with the interior of said boxmember and extending generally 1ongitudinally through said body to theexterior thereof at a point on the side thereof adjacent said pinmember, a second passageway communicating with the interior of said pinmember and extending generally longitudinally through said body to theexterior thereof at a point on the side thereof adjacent said boxmember, said passageways being inclined at an angle to the longitudinalaxis of said body, and a compressible packing element non-rotatablymounted on said body and surrounding said body intermediate the outerends of said passageways adapted to form a fluid-tight seal therebetweenand between the exterior of said body and a surrounding casing.

3. A circulation reversing rotary packer for use in rotary drilling,comprising, an elongated body for insertion in a hollow pipe string, apair of iiuid passageways extending in opposite directions through saidbody, each of said passageways connecting one end Ioi? said body withthe side thereof at a point adjacent the opposite end of said body, anda compressible packing element non-rotatably mounted on said body andsurrounding said body intermediate the outer ends of said passagewaysadapted to form a uid-tight seal therebetween and between the exteriorof said body and a surrounding casing, said packing element comprising aiiexible, resilient sleeve member slidable on said body, and meanscooperating between said body and the ends of said sleeve member forlongitudinally compressing said sleeve member to eiect radial expansionthereof.

4. A circulation reversing rotary packer for use in rotary drilling,comprising, an elongated cylindrical body, hollow connections at itsopposite ends for connecting said body to adjacent sections of a hollowpipe string, a rst single passageway communicating at one end with theinterior of one of said hollow connections and extending through saidbody at an angle to the longitudinal axis thereof to emergence of itsother end at one side of said body adjacent the other of said hollowconnections, a second single passageway communicating with said other ofsaid hollow connections and extending through said body in parallelspaced relation to said rst passageway to emergence of its other end atthe opposite side of said body adjacent the rst said hollow connection,and a compressible packing element non-rotatably mounted on said bodysurrounding said body intermediate the outer ends of said passagewaysadapted to form a fluid-tight seal therebetween and between the exteriorof said body and a surrounding casing.

5. A circulation reversing rotary packer for use in rotary drilling,comprising, an elongated cylindrical body having hollow connections atits opposite ends for connecting said body to adjacent sections of ahollow pipe string, a pair of spaced parallel fluid passagewaysextending in opposite directions through said body at an angle to itslongitudinal axis, each of said passageways connecting one of saidhollow connection members with the exterior of said body at a pointadjacent the opposite end thereof, a resilient packing sleevesurrounding said body between the outer ends of said passageways, saidsleeve being radially expandible by longitudinal compression thereof,longitudinally splined connections between the opposite ends of saidsleeve and said body providing limited relative longitudinal movementbetween the ends of said sleeve along said body while preventingrelative rotational movement between said sleeve and said body, andthrust means carried by said body and engageable with the lower end ofsaid sleeve to longitudinally compress said sleeve.

BRUNO R. SCHABARUM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,527,209 Nixon et al Feb. 24,1925 2,126,007 Guberson et al Aug. 9, 1938 2,233,692 Bryant Mar. 4, 19412,425,012 Snyder Aug. 5, 1947 2,456,551 Wilson Dec. 14, 1948

